Academics

Academics

Through a unique combination of classroom study, intensive programs, fieldwork, service-learning, workshops & weekend activities, we foster a hands-on engagement with aspects of Italian life usually inaccessible to the visitor.

The Siena School is organized into 5 Academic Tracks: Deaf Studies, Liberal Arts (including Studio Art), Museum StudiesSustainability, and a new track dedicated to Political Science.

Students choose a track when applying for our programs. Each track includes Italian language and different core courses. Each track offers 4-month semester courses, ranging from 45 to 60 contact hrs. The school is active throughout the year, offering a Spring and Fall semester and a Summer term. We’re also pleased to arrange customized programs and to organize programs in joint venture with other institutions.

The Siena School is a Study Abroad provider which collaborates with many North American partner institutions.

Credit transfer is processed in agreement with our partner colleges in the US.

Check our Apply section to learn more about our Academic Policy, Credit Transfer and Scholarships.

Track Outlines

Liberal Arts

Choose the lens through which you wish to discover our beautiful country! Whether you’re a sign linguist, an art historian, a writer, an environmentalist or an artist our Liberal Arts Track can provide you with the academic route that will take you to the heart of Italy’s culture. Research projects will range from installation work to keeping a journal while interning on a biodynamic farm or writing the initial paragraphs of your first book.

Sustainability

Understanding the transnational nature of environmental problems, the Siena School Sustainability Track encourages cross-cultural exchange to compliment our academic coursework. Through internships and workshops, students will have the opportunity to meet local food and agricultural producers, share in their work, and discover alternative approaches to food production in the interest of our common future.

Museum Studies

What is the role of museums in today’s society? How does curatorship vary from culture to culture? How should a museum interact with the territory that surrounds it? Our Museum Studies Track addresses these fundamental questions, providing a European and Italian perspective on the notion of museum curatorship while also focusing upon the anthropological value of the museum itself.

Deaf Studies

Since 2005, the Deaf Studies Department has ambitiously worked with Italian and American Deaf and signing communities to provide exciting and unique opportunities for students and professionals alike. If you are a signer – whether deaf, hard of hearing or hearing - wanting to learn more about other signing communities, you will find not other school in Europe that offers the same combination of immersion in Deaf Culture and Sign language. 

Political Science

The political science track introduces the student to the complex and multifaceted world of political theories both in a historical and contemporary perspective. Commonly used concepts such as democracy, liberalism, socialism, freedom, populism, and many others are sometimes not correctly understood in their proper meaning. The courses will provide the student with the intellectual tools necessary to go beyond the surface of the current political debate so that they can inquire into the subjects of politics and power with a stronger theoretical background.

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  • Liberal Arts Track

  • Sustainability Track

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